


Letting You In

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 12:40:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6704857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles begins university with a big secret--he has a baby daughter he is caring for all by himself. When Harry's grades begin to slip, fellow student Louis Tomlinson offers to help. As Louis begins to become a integral part of Harry's life, Harry has to decide whether to let Louis go or let him in on his secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letting You In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stylinsonsupporter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinsonsupporter/gifts).



> Better late than never. I almost finished this story on time, but it needed a little more TLC. Now it's ready for the world!
> 
> My thanks to [stylinsonsupporter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinsonsupporter/pseuds/stylinsonsupporter) for the prompts. I chose the following:
> 
>  
> 
> _Harry is an eighteen year old teen father who was recently abandoned by his ex girlfriend he had planned to propose to, leaving him with his newborn daughter struggling to make rent in a new apartment in a new city after being kicked out of his home. Juggling multiple jobs and paying a babysitter on top of it all means Harry is left with very little time and starts failing his classes. He keeps the baby as his little secret, saying it's his little sister. In comes Louis, the smart teacher's pet who the entire school loves. He volunteers to be the broody curly haired boy's tutor and secretly wonders why he's always falling asleep on his textbook and why they never go over to Harry's place and always study at Lou's. Flirting happens because Louis' had a crush on Harry since his first day of school and the more Harry's into it, the more he worries about Louis finding out about his daughter. Ending concept: Louis finding out about the wee baby, revealing his passionate love and experience with small children and the world being a brighter place for struggling Harry._
> 
>  
> 
> I tweaked the prompt just a bit, and I apologise for the fact that I really couldn't fit the other boys into the story. I hope you enjoy what I came up with!
> 
> Thanks so much to my BFF CL for beta'ing this while she was in the middle of a huge work project. She's the best!! Any mistakes left are mine.
> 
> The title of this story was ~~stolen~~ taken from Kris Allen's latest album, _Letting You In_.
> 
> Without further ado, on with the show....

"She'll be fine," Barbara assured him, her voice pitched low and soothing. At the same time, she held out her arms expectantly.

Harry was reluctant to hand Maisie over. He knew, however, that he had no choice. With a heavy heart, he leaned down to press a kiss to his two-month-old's forehead and passed her over to Barbara. As usual, Maisie didn't utter a peep. She had already spent short amounts of time with Barbara here and there over the summer in preparation for this very moment.

As the babysitter settled Maisie into the crook of her arm, she repeated, "She'll be fine. You just focus on your classes, and we'll be right here waiting for you when you're done."

Harry nodded, pulling his over-packed diaper bag off his shoulder and setting it down on a nearby table. He'd had just enough savings from the part-time job he'd had since he was fourteen to take off for the summer to take care of the baby, but the savings had run out, and he could take off no longer. Back to classes today, back to work tomorrow. Two works, to put the finest point on it.

He had located a job at both a local bakery and a local grocery store. He was lucky enough to be attending school on an academic scholarship, but he still had to pay for everything he and Maisie needed on a daily basis.

He had also been lucky to find Barbara. She lived in the same building as he did, and was willing to watch Maisie for an extremely affordable fee whenever Harry had to be at work or school. Secretly, Harry thought she just wanted a baby to fuss over, having no grandchildren of her own.

That Barbara was both sweet and trustworthy didn't matter. Harry met her gaze and explained, "It's just hard. I've never left her for so long with anyone before."

Barbara smiled gently. "I know. But you're doing the right thing. You need a university degree to be able to take care of this little one exactly the way you want to."

Harry didn't think it was a coincidence that Barbara happened to remind him very much of his Nan. Nan had been gone for over a year now, but she had always been Harry's biggest supporter and comforter, there for him even when no one else was. He knew that Nan would have given him the exact same advice. Maisie was going to be in good hands.

He bent over to kiss Maisie one more time. She looked up at him guilelessly, unaware of his trauma at leaving her. "I'll be back soon, bug," he whispered. "Be good for Miss Barbara."

"She'll be an angel today; I can tell." Barbara smiled widely this time. "Now go! You don't want to be late on your first day."

Harry straightened and returned Barbara's smile, aiming for bright, but having to settle for something slightly more sombre. "I'll be back as soon as my last class is over."

"Good luck, sweetheart."

"Thanks," Harry said, resituating his backpack now he wasn't toting a baby and a diaper bag. With one last look at Maisie, who was already closing her eyes, comfortable in Barbara's arms, Harry made for the door, closing it securely behind him.

When he was safe outside Barbara's flat, he leaned back against the wall and allowed himself to cry as softly as he could for five minutes. He already missed Maisie so badly; he wanted to be with her, not going to sit in a lecture hall for hours, listening to some ancient professor drone about information he might never need.

He pulled himself together in time, wiped the tears from under his eyes with the back of his hand, and hauled in a deep breath. Time for this first day to get under way.

* * *

Harry held out his arms to coax Maisie to come to him. Imogen held the baby's chubby hands as she wobbled her way along the grass towards Harry. Maisie had a huge smile on her face that Harry couldn't help but return. This was such a big moment!

As Maisie got to him, though, Harry began to shake. Was it an earthquake? Was he having a fit? As the shaking grew harder, he jumped, and realised he wasn't actually in the park with Imogen and Maisie, but rather in a study carrel in the corner of the university library. When he looked up to see who it was who had woken him from what had, frankly, been an awesome dream, he found a boy he vaguely recognised. The boy had dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked older than Harry's eighteen, and he had a bemused smile on his face.

Harry absently wiped at his eyes, then the repercussions of having just been shaken awake washed over him. He nearly dropped his phone in his haste to find out what time it was. "Shit!" he yelled as he took in the digital display.

The cute boy standing over him chuckled. "Watch your language there. And maybe your volume, too."

Harry glanced around himself, chagrined to find several of his fellow students shooting him disdainful looks. "Sorry," he whispered to no one in particular. Looking back up the boy, he explained, "I'm late."

"For class?" the boy asked, clearly confused. "It's awfully late for class."

Shaking his head and starting to shove his books into his rucksack, Harry clarified, "No, for work. I was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago."

"Yikes!" the boy exclaimed. "I hope you have an understanding boss."

Harry hoped so, too. He couldn't afford to lose this job. He was barely making ends meet. He stood and slung his pack over his shoulder, then brushed by the vaguely familiar boy. He had made it to the end of the row of books which led to the way out when he realised he'd not offered a drop of gratitude to the boy.

He turned and found the blue-eyed boy watching after him, a bemused look on his face once again. "Thanks for waking me…." He fished for the boy's name.

"Louis," the boy supplied. "I really just wanted this carrel, but you're welcome all the same."

The wide grin splitting Louis' face told Harry he was kidding, so Harry spared a second to send back a matching grin. Then he sprinted toward the library's exit, praying all the while that the manager at the Tesco where Harry was in charge of stocking shelves proved to not be a hard ass.

He was pleased beyond measure to find out she was not.

* * *

The next time Harry saw the boy from the library--Louis--it was, again, after a glorious dream in which he and Imogen were out on a glorious picnic with Maisie, letting her practice her new walking skills in the long grass under a tree.

The shaking that woke him was gentle, and he came back to reality slowly, blinking owlishly up at the cute boy with that adorable bemused look on his face. The cute boy was still vaguely familiar, but Harry couldn't quite place where from.

"Hi there," Louis greeted him. "Funny running into you again."

Harry took a moment to look around, vaguely recalling that the last thing he knew, he'd been in class. It had been Economics, if memory served, but he and Louis were the only ones in the lecture hall now. Harry groaned. He had been up early that morning, first with Maisie, then to take an early shift at the bakery. He was monumentally exhausted.

Louis chuckled at Harry's reaction. "I take it that was another unplanned nap."

With a beleaguered sigh, Harry nodded. "What time is it?"

Looking past Harry to the clock anchored to the wall, Louis replied, "Almost four. Your class ended about twenty minutes ago. Mine starts in ten. Looks like you found the comfiest seat in the room. Maybe I should switch."

Harry smirked and began to collect his things, shoving them into his backpack without a whole lot of care. "Can't believe everyone let me sleep."

"You did look pretty peaceful. They probably didn't want to disturb you," Louis surmised. "I wouldn't have woken you myself except that I really was considering that seat."

Harry stood to heave his backpack up onto his shoulder. "Well, enjoy. And…thanks. I would have been late if I had slept much longer."

"Late for work?" Louis probed.

Harry looked into Louis' face to see if he was genuinely curious or if he was trying to pry for information. Deciding Louis was just being friendly, Harry answered, "Yeah. My shift starts at half-four."

"Where do you work?" Louis continued to attempt to find out more about Harry's life. As long as those attempts centred around work, that was fine.

"Tesco," Harry told him. "The one just off campus."

Louis grinned. "I know the one. Cashier?"

With a shake of his head, Harry corrected Louis' assumption. "Stock boy."

"Sounds exciting." Louis served his sarcasm with a smile to soften it. Harry would be lying if he said it wasn't the cutest thing he'd seen all day.

"Absolutely." Harry returned Louis' smile. People were starting to file into the room now, members of Louis' class. "I should get going. Thanks again. Louis," he added, wanting to make sure the other boy knew Harry remembered him.

"Any time," Louis returned. After a beat, he proclaimed, "It would be easier to wake you next time if I knew your name."

Harry could feel the blush racing up his neck and into his cheeks, intensifying as he realised that Louis wouldn't be able to keep from noticing it. "Um. It's…." He cleared his throat before trying again. "It's Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Harry," Louis said, his tone laced with nothing but sincerity this time.

Harry smiled. "You, too. Again."

Resituating his pack once more, Harry started for the door.

"See you soon," Louis called after him.

Harry turned his head around to face Louis again. He offered him a final smile. "See you soon."

As he headed out of the building toward work, he genuinely hoped he would.

* * *

By the third time Louis caught him sleeping, it had become embarrassing. He had decided to take his lunch outside--it was an unusually warm day for mid-October, and he wanted to take advantage--and revise for the Economics midterm, which was fast approaching. He needed to really concentrate to understand the material; it wasn't coming to him very easily.

Maisie had been up most of the night screaming. Harry had been beside himself with worry. Judging by how little of her bottle she was willing to take, he speculated it was her tummy bothering her. He had been on the verge of deciding to just take a sick day when she perked up. Barbara had assured him she would keep an extra vigilant eye on her while Harry was at school and work. After eliciting a promise of a phone call if Maisie started to feel worse, Harry had left her and taken off for a short shift at the bakery.

One minute he had been rereading the last assigned chapter of his Econ text, struggling with the vocabulary and the maths, the next a familiar, gentle shake of his shoulder was rousing him. He found himself yet again blinking a smiling Louis into focus.

Louis was squatting on his haunches, grinning from ear to ear. "Good morning, sunshine. Or should I say good afternoon, seeing as it's just gone noon?"

Harry sighed, feeling the familiar warmth of a blush creeping up toward his cheeks. He'd fallen asleep sitting up, but he straightened a little nonetheless and rebalanced the Econ book perched precariously on his lap. "Hi, Louis. Thanks for waking me."

"Long night?" Louis guessed. 

Harry nodded and kept his explanation simple. "Couldn't sleep." He hadn't told anyone he'd met at university about Maisie. He didn't want people to judge him or, worse, feel sorry for him.

Louis frowned. "That sucks."

Wasn't that the truth? "Yeah."

"How's Econ going?" Louis asked, gesturing toward Harry's textbook as he resituated himself into a cross-legged position on the grass to Harry's left. 

Harry couldn't help but groan.

"Not good?" Louis surmised with a frown.

With a shrug, Harry told him, "I just can't seem to grasp the concepts. I mean, some of it makes sense, but a lot of it doesn't."

"It can be tough to get," Louis assured him.

"The midterm is in just a few weeks," Harry continued. "I'm a little worried about how I'm going to pass."

Louis was silent for a moment, obviously thinking something through. Harry's suspicion was proven correct when Louis announced, "I've got an idea!"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"I've already made it up to Econ 301. I can be your tutor!" The grin on Louis' face expressed exactly how pleased Louis was to have come up with this. 

Harry immediately shook his head. "Thank you, but you really don't have to. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually."

"Do you really want to risk your midterm grade on something that might only _eventually_ happen?" Louis inquired, narrowing his eyes.

Harry sighed. "No, but I may have to. I can't pay for a tutor. I'm barely making ends meet as it is."

Louis shook his head. "You don't have to pay me. I'm free." He laughed at his own choice of words. "I mean, I'll do it for free."

This time it was Harry who narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

Louis nodded fervently. "Really."

Harry was genuinely touched by the offer, but he didn't see how he could accept it. "I can't let you do that. Surely you have revising of your own you need to get done."

Louis' shrug was casual. "I'll manage. Come on, Harry. Say yes."

Turning down the offer now would probably come across as rude, so Harry finally relented. "Fine. Yes."

Louis fist-pumped the air. "When do you want to start?"

Harry did a quick flip through his mental calendar, trying to remember when all his shifts were. "Tomorrow night? My last class ends at half-five."

"Should I meet you at yours?" Louis wondered aloud.

"No!"

The taken aback look on Louis' face told Harry his dissent had been, perhaps, a little too vehement. Harry drew in a deep breath and said much more calmly, "I'm sorry. It's just…. My flat is a mess. Messy roommate." That much wasn't a lie. His roommate just happened to be three months old.

Louis' face relaxed. "Okay. You can come over to mine. Mine's a mess, too, but I don't really mind."

Harry smiled, grateful Louis was willing to work around Harry's quirks. He just wasn't willing to share Maisie with anyone. Not yet.

"Yo! Tommo!" came a shout from the other side of the lawn.

Harry and Louis both turned their heads in the direction of the voice. It belonged to a boy about Louis' age with longish dark hair and, best Harry could tell from a distance, brown eyes. When he had Louis' attention, he mimed lifting barbells.

"Shit!" Louis exclaimed. "We have an appointment with a trainer." It all clicked into place for Harry just then. _That's_ how he knew Louis. He was one of the school's best footie players. While Harry slotted this information into place in his brain, Louis gave his friend the universal signal which asked for one more second. "I've got to go." He yanked his mobile phone from his back pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Harry. "Give me your number? I'll text you my address."

Harry swiftly typed his number into Louis' contacts, then handed the phone back over.

"See you tomorrow?" Louis confirmed as he stood up and stuck his phone back in his pocket.

"Already looking forward to it," Harry said with a smile.

"Great."

Harry watched as Louis jogged over to his friend and traded a few words with him. In a trice, then, they were off to their appointment. As their figures grew smaller and smaller, Harry returned to his Econ text.

As he started the last assigned chapter again--having not gotten very far earlier--he found himself not quite as worried about not understanding half of the words. Inexplicably, he had faith in Louis. Louis would see him through.

* * *

His faith turned out to be well founded. Louis was a great tutor. He knew how to explain the basics of economics in a way that was much easier for Harry to understand than the way his professor had explained it.

They worked for a solid hour and a half before Louis blurted out, "I'm starving."

Harry's stomach grumbled at just that moment, making Louis laugh. "Clearly you are, too. Let's stop for today and find some food."

Briefly, Harry considered protesting. They had done quite a bit, but he didn't feel at all ready for his midterm yet. Then he remembered that Louis was doing this for free, and they could probably schedule another session. "Needs to be something quick, but food sounds good." He had Barbara another hour, then he needed to be home to Maisie.

"I can tell you for a fact that there's nothing to eat in this flat," Louis went on to say. "We haven't been to the grocery in…a while." The _we_ , Harry knew, referred to Louis and his roommate, Niall, though Niall was--according to Louis--almost never at home.

"You should come down to the one where I work," Harry told him. "I help keep it well-stocked."

Louis grinned. "Sounds good. For now, though, why don't we just go down the pub?"

Uncomfortably, but necessarily, Harry replied, "As long as it's not too expensive, that sounds fine."

"Yeah, this one's pretty cheap," Louis declared. "Food's good, though. And it's quick, too."

Harry grabbed his things so he could go directly home after he ate, then they shrugged on jackets. Properly outfitted for the seasonally chilly October evening, Louis led the way down the street to a pub set right in the corner of Louis' street and the high street called _Rose and Dagger_. Harry told Louis he'd never been there before, and Louis assured him he was in for a treat.

The pub was warm and cosy, and it wasn't too busy. Louis and Harry were seated in a booth in no time with pints of Guinness. Not too much later, a server came to take their order, then they were left to relax and shake off the day of school and work.

"So, Harry…." Louis trailed off. "I don't even know your surname."

"Styles," Harry provided.

"Tomlinson." Louis pointed to his own chest. He began again, "So, Harry Styles, what's your story?"

Harry squirmed a little at the question. There wasn't a lot going on outside of school that he was ready to share with anyone. Not wanting Louis to get either suspicious or awkward, Harry answered, "I'm just a guy from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, here to study business. Same old story you've heard a million times."

Louis tilted his head and appraised Harry carefully, then shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I don't think that's all there is."

Harry aimed for a casual shrug, and he felt like he almost made it. He was near enough, in any case. "I'm pretty boring." He turned the tables, then. "What about you?"

"I see your game, Harry Styles. You have secrets. Deep secrets," Louis guessed, hitting closer to the mark than Harry would have liked. "I'll get it out of you one day, but for now, I'll give you a pass."

Harry couldn't help but sigh with relief.

Louis grinned at the sound. "I am a third year drama student studying business on the side. I also play a little football."

Harry nodded. "I've actually heard that. I've also heard you're pretty good."

Blushing graciously, Louis shrugged. "I guess so. I really enjoy it."

"Do you act in the plays here, too?" Harry wanted to know. He found himself wanting to know as much as he could about this kind boy who'd offered to help him without recompense, but rather out of the goodness of his heart.

"I do. We just did a production of _Grease_ , which I also did in secondary. Next up is _Romeo and Juliet_."

"Who are you playing?" Harry wondered aloud.

"Mercutio," Louis reported with a smile.

Harry thought back to his Shakespeare classes in secondary school. "You get a death scene, don't you?"

Louis fairly beamed. "A wicked one. I die in a duel."

Harry smiled at Louis' enthusiasm. "Sounds really cool."

"You should come," Louis said, eyes bright. "We open at the beginning of November."

Harry was flattered that Louis seemed to genuinely want Harry to come watch him act. "My schedule is really tight, but I'll try," Harry promised. Since Maisie had been born, he hadn't gotten to go out except to his classes and to work. If he could swing it, it would be fun to get out to do something that didn't involve taking notes or changing nappies.

"I'll hope you can," Louis wished, the look on his face completely sincere.

"I'm extra thankful you could fit me into _your_ schedule. It sounds as busy as mine," Harry observed.

"I make it work," Louis said breezily before asking, "So, is it Tesco keeping you so busy?"

"Tesco and the bakery the next street over," Harry explained, leaving out the baby keeping him busiest out of everything. "Teacake Dreams."

Louis opened his eyes wide. "Two jobs? You have two jobs _and_ school?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah. Gotta pay for stuff, yeah?"

"No help from home?" Louis innocently probed.

This conversation was going in a direction that Harry really didn't want it to, but he shook his head in answer. Surely he wasn't the only person in the world not to have help through university from their parents.

Louis seemed, however, surprised. "Really?"

"Really," Harry assured him. He was sure of it every single day.

"I'm so sorry," Louis said, offering a small smile.

With another shrug, Harry told him, "It's okay. I'm making it. Mostly."

"Well, that explains why you're constantly falling asleep." Louis quirked an eyebrow and popped a teasing grin.

"Yeah," Harry agreed vaguely, hoping Louis would believe that it was work and only work tiring him out.

Harry was saved from Louis further investigating his constant state of exhaustion by their server bringing their dinner. They spent the next few minutes digging in.

"You were right. Food's pretty good," Harry commented after he'd demolished half of his hamburger. It had been a while since he'd had any food out, so the burger and chips tasted especially good.

"It's a decent place," Louis agreed. "You've never been here before?"

Harry shook his head as he bit a chip. When he was done chewing, he added, "Nope."

"I'm surprised. It's pretty popular seeing as it's so cheap." Louis took a sip of his pint.

"Guess I just haven't had the time," Harry responded, hoping Louis would continue to accept his vague answers.

"Well, with two jobs and classes, I see how that could be a problem." Louis sympathised. Thank goodness a university student being super busy wasn't unusual. Even if Louis was suspicious after Harry had refused to offer no details about his life outside of school, he clearly didn't question Harry's packed schedule.

"There will be time to explore more of the local food when midterms are over," Harry commented, ruefully adding, "If I pass, that is."

Louis grinned from ear to ear. "You have the best tutor here at the University of Manchester. Of course you'll pass."

"Cocky!" Harry sipped at his pint, glancing down at his watch. It was nearing time for him to get Maisie from Barbara. "Yikes."

"Yikes what?" Louis questioned, frowning. "Everything okay?"

Harry nodded. "Just remembered I have a shift over at Tesco. I need to get going soon." He hated lying, but the longer he was at university, the more used to it he got. He wanted no one's pity, least of all Louis'.

"Well, let's eat up, then." Louis lifted his hamburger to his lips and took a huge bite, grinning around it.

Their plates were clean and their bill paid less than fifteen minutes later.

As they stepped out of the pub into the crisp, cool night, Harry said, "Thanks for the revising session, Louis."

Louis waved a hand in the air as they walked back toward Louis' flat. "It was nothing. My pleasure. When should we meet again?"

Harry did a mental check of his work schedules; they was pretty tight right up to the weekend. "I don't suppose you're free at all on Sunday, are you?"

"Sunday?"

"I work at the bakery in the morning, but I'm off at noon." Harry held his breath, waiting to see if Louis would be able to accommodate him.

"Well, I usually try to keep Sunday school-free," Louis drawled. "But for you, I will make an exception."

Harry sighed with relief. "Thanks. I need all the help I can get."

"You're going to pass the midterm, Harry," Louis predicted. "You have me now. No worries."

Worry was kind of Harry's default setting, but he appreciated the support all the same. "Thanks."

When they arrived at Louis' building, Harry offered one more round of gratitude. "Thanks again, Louis."

Louis turned to face Harry. "No problem. See you Sunday. If I don't have to wake you up again before that."

As a blush sped up his cheeks, Harry chuckled. "Fair point. I'm going to need tutoring in more than Econ if I keep passing out when I'm meant to be revising."

"Well, just try to stay awake in any lit classes you have," Louis suggested wryly. "I can't help you on that."

The chuckle became a laugh. "I'll keep that in mind." He looked down at his watch. "I should get going. See you Sunday."

Louis executed a sharp nod, then bounded up the stairs to his building's front door. As he walked away toward his own flat, Harry couldn't wait to see him again.

* * *

The green LED of his alarm clock told him it was 3:47 a.m. Maisie, however, didn't seem to care that it was the wee hours of the morning. She wanted some Daddy Time.

Resigned to heading to work at six on very little sleep, Harry fixed a bottle and cradled Maisie in his arms, propped up on several pillows behind his back.

With a yawn, Harry told her, "You need to adjust your body clock, bug." She just looked up at him guilelessly, huge blue eyes blinking as she sucked on her bottle. He chuckled. "Right. You don't care how tired Daddy is."

For a few moments, then, it was silent save for the sound of Maisie drinking and Maisie breathing. She smelled sweet, like baby powder, and she was practically boneless in his arms, completely secure in her father's arms. He could not have loved her more, pulling her up high enough to press a kiss to her forehead.

She was about halfway through the bottle when Harry said, "I know you've been wondering why you've been spending extra time with Miss Barbara. Well, bug, Daddy was going to fail Economics without some help, and Daddy got lucky. He met a boy called Louis who offered to tutor Daddy for free."

Harry sighed. "I wish I could have you meet Louis, baby girl. I think you'd like him. He's kind and funny, and he's already been such a great friend to me." Maisie looked at him like she was seeing into his soul. She did that often, and it never failed to send a chill up and down his spine. "Okay, bug. I know I can't fool you. I like Louis heaps. Like maybe more-than-a-friend heaps." He sighed again. "I never thought there'd be anyone I could like the way I liked your mum, but I think I was wrong."

Maisie sucked the last drop of formula from her bottle, and Harry set it on the bedside table before lifting Maisie to his shoulder to burp her. As he patted her back gently, he went on. "I can't do anything about it, though. You're my number one priority, and nothing will ever, ever change that. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."

After a couple indelicate burps, Maisie cried a little, alerting Harry that she needed a nappy change. He changed her with great efficiency (that first week had been tricky, but now he was a master nappy changer), then lay back down on the bed, resting her on her tummy on his chest. She blinked up at him a few times before her breathing evened out. His whole palm covered her tiny back; he loved being able to feel her body rise and fall under his hand with each deep breath.

"I love you, little bug," Harry whispered close to Maisie's ear. He closed his eyes, then, and as he fell asleep once again, he decided that if he was exhausted as he made scones at the bakery in a couple hours, it was worth it. Maisie was worth it.

* * *

Now that Harry had admitted to someone that he liked Louis as perhaps more than a friend--even if that someone had barely three months of living under her belt--it was all he could think about, particularly, of course, when he was actually with Louis.

Midterms were in five days, and thanks to Louis' steadfast tutoring in between classes and football games, Harry was feeling pretty confident about his odds for passing his Econ exam. However, he had met up with Louis at what had become their usual time to go over the material yet again. He figured he'd rather over-prepare than under.

Louis was explaining the history of some of the more famous economists Harry would need to remember for the midterm when Harry realised he had missed just about every word Louis had said in the last ten minutes. He had been way too busy admiring Louis' fluffy fringe, cute button nose, and heavenly blue eyes.

"Harry!" Louis interrupted his reverie. Harry shook his head to clear it and met Louis' gaze. "Are you still with me?"

"Sorry." Harry shifted in his seat awkwardly. "Got distracted."

Louis smirked. "By what?"

Harry felt a tell-tale heat rising up the sides of his face. "I--I…. I'm not…sure." To his own ears, that sounded lame; he couldn't even imagine how it sounded to Louis' ears.

"I'm not sure I believe you." Apparently his explanation sounded fake to Louis' ears.

Harry opened his mouth to try again, or at least to try to get them back on track. He was kept from doing either when his mouth was suddenly covered with Louis'.

In the back of his head, a little voice reminded Harry he shouldn't be doing this and told him to back away. Harry ignored the voice. Instead, he focused on the magnificence which was the sensation of Louis' lips pressed against his. They were warm and soft and tasted vaguely of coffee. When the tip of Louis' tongue demanded entry into Harry's mouth, Harry allowed it, and almost immediately little shocks of electricity raced up and down Harry's spine.

It had been a very long time since Harry had kissed anyone. The last time had been with Imogen a few months before Maisie was born. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed it. The heat surrounding his tongue as it explored Louis' mouth was intoxicating, as if he'd done about a dozen shots.

Harry gasped for air when Louis' lips lifted off his own. Louis hauled in an audible deep breath of his own, then leaned back in for more. Harry was all for Round Two, but his phone chose that moment to start singing _Wouldn't It Be Nice_.

Harry sighed with frustration, but picked his mobile up off the table anyway. The display read _Barbara_. Harry's heart instantly began racing. Barbara never called. He swiped the button to accept the call.

"Barbara?" he opened with, his tone filled to the brim with worry, all thoughts of the kiss banished.

"Harry, I'm sorry to bother your revising session, but Maisie has developed quite a fever. I think you need to come home," Barbara explained matter-of-factly, though her calm demeanour did nothing to quell Harry's anxiety.

"I'm on my way," he promised, already using one hand to gather his books and his notes.

As he ended the call and began to shove his things into his backpack, Louis inquired, "What's wrong?"

Zipping his pack closed, Harry hastily explained. "It's my…sister. She's ill. That was the babysitter. I need to get home."

"Your parents can't get there?"

Harry shook his head and stood. "There's only me. I'm sorry, Louis. I've got to go."

Louis rose right behind Harry. "Of course."

"I'll text you and let you know if I can meet tomorrow." Harry reached the door and twisted the knob to open it. He turned to look back at Louis. "Sorry to run."

Louis forcefully shook his head. "No, no. You have to. I hope your sister's feeling better soon."

Harry offered a small smile. "Thanks."

He made it home in record time.

* * *

By the time he was due to leave for the opening shift at the bakery, Harry had had zero hours of sleep. Though he hated to do it, he called in sick.

Upon getting home the previous night, Harry had taken a screeching Maisie off Barbara's hands and carried her to the nearest A&E. They had diagnosed her with an ear infection and they'd given him medicine and ear drops, telling him that if he kept a strict schedule of dosing, Maisie should recover in twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

The first ten of those hours had been filled with lots of screaming (Maisie) and crying (Harry). He hated that she was in pain, and he hated that there was nothing he could do to assure her that he was trying to make it better. He dosed Maisie with the medications every four hours, and he held her as she wailed throughout the night. There was no way he was making it to work or school that day. He was eternally grateful his exams hadn't started quite yet. He could try to make up any work hours he missed; exams would be harder to reschedule.

As the day progressed, Maisie's fever inched down. It took a while, but the drops eventually seemed to work; by the late afternoon, Maisie's distress seemed to lessen, and she fell deeply asleep for the first time since Harry had collected her from Barbara's.

The minute she passed out on his chest, Harry closed his eyes and fell asleep himself, desperately tired.

He was awoken some time later by the doorbell; a quick glance out the window revealed night had fallen. He checked to make sure Maisie was still asleep, then he carefully propped her up on his shoulder and lifted himself off the sofa to answer the door.

Harry expected to find Barbara on the other side of the door, coming to check in on how Maisie was doing, perhaps offer some help. Surprisingly, it was not Barbara coming to check on his daughter, but was, instead, Louis, coming to check on his "sister."

The second he saw the sleeping baby resting her head on Harry's shoulder, Louis offered a soft, "Hi."

"Hi," Harry whispered back.

Continuing to speak in hushed tones, Louis explained his presence. "I got your address from the admissions office. I told them you were sick, and I was charged with bringing you notes."

Harry rolled his eyes and quietly asked, "Seriously? They gave out my address?"

Louis shrugged his shoulders, a smirk on his face. "I have charm. And a friend who works there," he added. Sobering he kept his voice low to add, "When you weren't at your Econ class, I decided to come check to see how your sister is. Is that her?" He pointed at the still-sleeping infant.

Harry nodded. "Come on in," he invited Louis.

Louis moved past Harry and Maisie to enter the flat, Harry closing the door behind him. "Have a seat," Harry suggested, using his free arm to gesture toward the sofa.

Louis took the left side of the sofa, while Harry claimed the right, sitting cautiously so as not to waken Maisie. Once he was settled, he lowered the baby so she was cradled in his arms. She squirmed a little at the movement, but remained asleep, the medication she was on doing its thing.

"She's so little. When you said _sister_ , I was picturing someone a little bigger," Louis admitted. "How old is she?"

"Almost four months old. She was born on the 1st of July." Best and worst day of his life, all in one, but Louis didn't need to know that part.

"So little still," Louis breathed.

Harry had not had a lot of time to revisit the kiss he and Louis had shared, distracted as he'd been by Maisie's illness. Now, though, it all came rushing back. Surprisingly, this didn't feel awkward. The kiss felt like a dream, and now he and Louis were what they'd been since they met--good friends. Harry could handle that. In fact, as he hadn't had time to make any other friends since the term began, it was good to have at least one.

"How's she doing?" Louis queried, his face showing genuine concern for this little girl he'd known for all of five minutes.

"She's better," Harry reported. "She has an ear infection, but the drugs and the drops they gave her finally seem to be working."

"That's good. You look exhausted," Louis noted, not unkindly.

Harry sighed, sorry he appeared to not look his best, even if he did have a very good reason. "She was up all night."

Louis frowned in sympathy. "Poor thing." He reached out to run a finger lightly down the baby's cheek. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks." 

"What's her name?" Louis inquired, looking up and meeting Harry's gaze.

"Maisie," Harry told him. "Maisie Marie Styles." Even if he had to lie and say Maisie was his sister, at least he didn't have to lie about her name.

"Pretty name," Louis complimented. After a moment, he swivelled his head to look around the flat. "So, do your parents live here, too?"

Harry shook his head and went with the untruth he'd pre-planned in case he got this question. "No. They died." It was harsh, yes, but it might as well have been true.

He felt a twinge of guilt when Louis gasped and placed his hand over his heart. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Harry told him, working hard to sound sincere.

"So you took your sister to raise?" Louis checked. "There weren't any other relatives to take her? At least until you finish school?"

"Nope. There's only me." That part, at least, was true.

Louis sent him a supportive smile. "That's pretty amazing." He gazed down at Maisie. "She's a lucky little girl to have such a great big brother."

"I'm the lucky one," Harry countered. "She's a good little girl."

Of course, Maisie chose that moment to wake up, blinking her eyes up owlishly at Harry. She was silent for exactly three seconds, then she began to wail. "What time is it?" he asked Louis.

Louis checked his mobile. "Almost half-six."

Harry sighed and felt the baby's forehead; she was not as hot as she'd been the night before, but she was definitely warm. "Her meds are wearing off."

"What can I do?" Louis raised his voice to be heard over the bawling baby.

"It's okay, I can get it." Harry stood up with a mind to take Maisie into the bathroom. He was halted by Louis' hand gently wrapping around his wrist. He met Louis' gaze with impatience; he needed to help Maisie.

"I have four little sisters," Louis told him. "I've dealt with a sick baby before. Are you giving her drops?"

"And some liquid medication I give her orally," Harry reported. "She's not real fond of any of it."

Louis chuckled. "That's because it's all gross." He let go of Harry's arm to stand. "You hold her, and I can do the drops and the meds."

It had been really hard to dose Maisie all by himself. She was feverish, squirmy, and uncomfortable, and she wanted no part of having anything dropped into her ears or her mouth. Might be easier with another person helping him. Though he was reluctant to drag Louis into this, he nodded.

"Lead the way," Louis commanded.

Bouncing a still-sobbing Maisie in his arms, Harry walked the short distance from the lounge to his small bathroom, Louis hot on his heels. Once there, he handed Louis the ear drops first. "I'm supposed to put two drops in each ear."

"Got it. Hold her on her side."

Harry situated Maisie on her side as best he could while she wriggled with discomfort. "Shh, bug," Harry urged her in a soothing tone. When she was at still as she was going to be, he told Louis, "Go ahead."

Maisie cried the whole time, but Louis got drops into each of Maisie's ears. They gave her a few minutes to recover from that ordeal before Harry held her in a position where Louis could get the oral medication into her mouth.

Harry carried Maisie back into the lounge and let her cry out her indignation at having been made to take all that medicine. Louis just sat patiently while Harry whispered calming words to the baby. Once her screaming lessened to something less than an ear-piercing decibel, Harry said, "She probably needs a bottle and a nappy change."

"I'll do the bottle," Louis immediately offered.

Harry smirked. "Yeah, nappy duty is no fun."

"She's _your_ sister, man," Louis was quick to point out, grinning all the while. "The bottle will be ready when you get back."

Harry took Maisie into their shared bedroom to change her nappy and dress her in a clean onesie. She was a little less fussy when that was done, but it was obvious from the way she sucked on his finger when he gave it to her that she was also hungry. This was a good sign, since she hadn't been up for much eating earlier in the day.

True to his word, Louis had a bottle waiting for Maisie when Harry carried her over to the sofa again. He handed it over to Harry right away, and Maisie took it hungrily. "Thanks," Harry said, filled with gratitude. It was nice to have help for a change. "She hasn't eaten all day."

They sat in silence for a few moments while Maisie drank from her bottle. It was very comfortable. Harry was able to concentrate on making sure Maisie was fed and burped properly while Louis just checked his phone, content to just hang out.

Maisie drank every last drop of formula. "Good girl," Harry praised her, leaning over to set the empty bottle on the coffee table.

"Can I hold her?" Louis requested.

Harry hesitated for only the length of time it took him to remember Louis had said he had four younger sisters. He figured Louis wouldn't break his daughter, and he carefully passed her over.

Maisie whimpered a little upon being placed in the stranger's arms, but he rocked her just a little, and she settled down.

"Hi, Maisie," Louis greeted her in a gentle voice. "I'm your brother's friend, Louis."

Harry couldn't help but smile as Maisie watched Louis intently, hanging on his every word just as much as Harry had grown to.

"Aren't you a beautiful girl?" Louis said sweetly. "I'm so sorry you haven't been feeling good. I know Harry's been taking real good care of you, so you'll be right as rain in no time."

Maisie blew an air bubble at Louis, and both of the boys laughed.

"Where'd that come from? _Right as rain_ , I mean," Harry wondered aloud.

Louis shrugged. "I dunno. My mum used to say it all the time, though."

"Well, I hope you're right, and she is better soon," Harry told him. "Last night was pretty scary."

"First time she's been sick?"

"She's had little fevers before, but this was the first time I could tell she was in pain," Harry recounted. "It's torture not being able to explain to her that I'm doing everything I can."

Louis nodded. "It'll get easier as she gets older."

Harry returned Louis' nod. "I hope so."

Louis paused for a beat, bouncing Maisie in his arms, then he posed a question for Harry. "Hey, you said Maisie hadn't eaten all day. Have you?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope."

"Here." Louis passed Maisie back into Harry's arms. "I'm going to take care of that."

"What?" Harry was confused.

Louis held up a finger to indicate Harry should wait. Then he dialled a number on his mobile, and Harry listened while Louis ordered a pizza, half pepperoni, then asked Harry what his favourite pizza topping was. When Harry told him he liked mushrooms, Louis requested the other half be mushrooms.

Harry was normally only this endeared about his baby girl, but now that endearment apparently extended to Louis; it was quite possible he was in a lot of trouble here. A whole lot of trouble.

* * *

They met a couple more times to go over the Economics material Harry would need to know for his midterm. Those revising sessions were done at Harry's place, however, not Louis'. Now that Louis had met Maisie, he couldn't get enough of her. Since Harry couldn't get enough of Louis, that worked out just fine. Even if he had to pretend their kiss hadn't happened, pretend he didn't want it to happen again, and pretend he didn't want more.

Louis would hold or feed Maisie while they revised, giving Harry a break. Harry was happy not just for the help, but for Maisie getting another person in her life who adored her. Harry tried hard not to allow himself to think about how his feelings for Louis were growing more complicated; he didn't have time for complicated.

The day of Harry's midterm, Louis met up with Harry before class to wish him luck. Harry had kind of been expecting he might do that, considering how invested Louis was in Harry's success.

What he had not been expecting was for Louis to be waiting for him when he was done with his exam. It wasn't timed, so students were allowed to leave when they were done. For Louis to be there waiting meant that Louis had just hung out, staying until Harry was finished.

"So?" Louis asked excitedly as soon as Harry came out of the classroom and into the hallway. "How'd you do?"

After Harry jumped in surprise at Louis' appearance, he grinned at his tutor. "I think it went okay."

"Yay!" Louis cheered, pulling Harry into a hug. "I knew you could do it."

Harry held onto Louis perhaps a few seconds longer than could be interpreted as friendly, then reluctantly let go. He looked Louis in the eye to say, "If I passed, it's all thanks to you."

Louis beamed from ear to ear. "Then let's go celebrate! Dinner's on me. You in?"

He knew he should just get home to Maisie, but Harry couldn't know whether or not he'd ever see Louis again after this, now that his midterm was over. Sure, they might be friends, but Louis had football, his plays, and his friends, and Harry had Maisie. He figured he deserved one last night out with Louis before it was, potentially, over.

"Sure," Harry agreed.

"Should we go get Maisie or do you think Barbara can keep her an extra hour or so?" Louis inquired.

Harry hoped Barbara could watch Maisie a little longer; he kind of wanted some time alone with Louis. "I'll call and check."

Thankfully, Barbara was more than willing to have Maisie long enough for Louis and Harry to go eat a celebratory bite.

Louis gave a small cheer when Harry reported the news. "Not that I don't love Maisie, because I do," Louis clarified. "But it'll be nice just have some…guy time."

"Guy time?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at Louis' choice of words.

"Go with it, H," Louis told him.

"Okay." Harry smiled and shifted his backpack into a more comfortable position. "Where are we going?"

After pausing for a moment of thought, Louis had a suggestion. "What about that pub down near the bus station on the high street? _The Compass Rose_?"

 _What is it with Manchester and its nautically-themed pubs?_ Harry thought. Out loud, he confessed, "I've never been."

"You need get out more. First you haven't been to _Rose and Dagger_ , now this. That's a crime, so that's where we'll go." Louis didn't even wait for a response from Harry before making for the exit.

The walk to the pub didn't take too long, and in no time they were seated in a corner booth, Louis nursing a beer, and Harry a soda. He didn't like to drink when he was soon going to be responsible for Maisie.

"So, you still feeling okay about the exam?" Louis wanted to know, speaking between sips of his beer.

Harry nodded. "I think so."

"Good. And how's the bug today?"

Harry grinned at Louis picking up on Harry's own nickname for Maisie, and he loved that Louis cared enough to ask after her, even when he'd seen her the night before. "She's doing okay. She's finally over the ear infection, I think. She was back to her usual routine after you left last night."

"Awesome."

Their server came by to take their order--Louis recommended the pub's fish and chips to Harry, so Harry decided to take Louis' advice and try it--then left them on their own once again.

The serious look which took over Louis' face at the start of this interlude should have tipped Harry off that things might be about to get uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it wasn't until Louis cleared his throat that Harry's spidey senses began to tingle.

"Can I ask you a question?" Louis requested.

"Okay," Harry allowed warily.

"What happened to your parents?"

It felt to Harry as if all the air in the room had been sucked out. He heartily wished he had told Louis he wasn't up for questions.

Harry sighed and hauled in a deep breath. He'd thought this through, of course, just in case the subject of his family came up. He had an answer prepared. He didn't want to be the guy who'd been abandoned by his ex and his family to--on his own--raise a baby he'd accidentally helped create. He didn't need that kind of judgement. He preferred the much more heroic story where he was taking care of his baby sister because his family was gone. He'd been so isolated, though. Isolated and busy, going from school to work, and then back home to Maisie. He had managed to avoid this conversation for the entire half-term. With resignation, he realised his time was up.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Louis' forehead wrinkled with worry. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a personal question. You don't need to answer."

Harry shook his head. "It's all right." He sucked in another deep breath and passed the point of no return. "They died in a car accident. Them and my older sister Gemma."

Louis' gasp was loud and seemed to Harry to echo across the room. He felt truly bad for lying, but he told himself he had to, if only to protect himself.

"That's terrible," Louis sympathised. "Maisie is so little. It couldn't have happened that long ago."

"Right before school started," Harry said tonelessly, trying hard to play the part he'd painted himself into.

After a brief pause, Louis said, "You're amazing. Taking on both your baby sister and school at the same time."

Harry shrugged uncomfortable, but replied, "Thanks. I'm trying."

"It's sad that they didn't live to watch Maisie grow up," Louis went on, "but I'm sure they'd be so happy about how well you're doing with her."

Harry had to hold back a laugh. After composing himself, he offered a modest, "I hope so."

"No, truly you are." Louis smiled supportively. Harry just wished he'd drop the subject.

Harry sent back what he hoped was a gracious smile. "Thanks."

Their server chose that opportune moment to reappear with their food, and as soon as everything was on the table, Harry made quick work of starting on his chips, effectively putting a halt to their conversation.

When they'd demolished half of their food, Harry made sure that they didn't return to the topic of his family. "So, Lou, your play is opening soon, yeah?"

"Yes!" Louis responded with great enthusiasm. "I still want you to come. I think it's coming along nicely."

"If Barbara can watch Maisie, I will definitely try to come. I'd love to see you in action."

"Well," Louis grinned lasciviously, lifting his eyebrows up and down, "you can see me in action any time you want."

A familiar heat crawled swiftly up Harry's neck into his cheeks. "That's not what I meant."

Louis grin grew fonder. "I know. You're just fun to tease."

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. Then he picked up his fork to get back to eating his fish. As much as he loved being with Louis, he needed to get back to Maisie.

They chatted amiably about nothing as heavy as Harry's family while they finished off their dinners. When their plates were clean, Louis paid the bill, not allowing Harry to contribute even a penny. He said this was Harry's gift for passing his exam.

"I can walk you home," Louis offered as they stepped out into the crisp October evening.

"You don't need to do that," Harry protested, pulling his jacket tightly around him.

"What if I want to?" Louis countered.

Harry smiled. "Then I guess I can't stop you."

As they moved in the direction of Harry's flat, Harry told Louis, "Thank you so much for all your help. I would not have done nearly so well without it."

Louis huffed. "You'd have done fine. I think you knew more than you thought. But I am happy to have helped."

"No, I am pretty sure I might have failed," Harry insisted. "And then I would have been sunk. I _have_ to stay at school."

"Because of Maisie?" Louis asked.

"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "I have to get a decent job to properly look after her."

"I meant what I said before…you're so amazing," Louis complimented him. "I love my sisters, and I would do anything for them, but I really can't imagine trying to take care of them and do school at the same time."

Harry shrugged, blushing once again.

"You do what you gotta do, eh?" Louis concluded.

"Yeah." Harry turned the corner onto his street. "Exactly."

At that moment, it began to drizzle. Harry looked up; the clouds looked ominous. It was definitely about to pour. He quickened his steps, and Louis did the same. Halfway down the block, they came to the entrance to Harry's building.

"So," Harry began nervously, not sure how to tell Louis goodbye now the midterm had passed, "this is me."

Louis chuckled. "I recognise the place."

Harry laughed, too. "Right. Um…thanks. Truly. Thanks for everything."

Louis stepped a little closer to Harry. "No problem. Happy I could help."

The rain began to fall a little bit harder now, prompting Harry to suggest, "You should get home before it starts to really come down."

Inching forward just a touch more, Louis softly noted, "I'm pretty sure it's too late for that."

Harry opened his mouth to make a comment, but he had no chance. Louis chose that second to cover Harry's mouth with his own. It was at the same time what Harry most wanted and what he least needed.

For a second, Harry forgot about the rain, revelling instead in the feel of Louis' lips pressing against his own, the taste of the beer Louis had drunk mingling with the aftertaste of the soda Harry had drunk. Almost involuntarily, Harry began to move his mouth in rhythm with Louis'. However, before it could go much farther, when Louis touched the tip of his tongue to the middle of Harry's lips, Harry backed away, hitting the wall behind him.

"Harry?" Louis questioned him, confused.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't." He reached for the door handle. "It's just…. Maisie."

Pressing his lips together, Louis seemed disappointed, but he nevertheless nodded with understanding. "I get it."

As he yanked on the handle to open the door, Harry turned to look Louis in the eye to say, "Thanks again, Lou. For everything."

Louis nodded and smiled. "My pleasure."

Harry smiled back at Louis, then forced himself to enter the building, leaving Louis behind. It was the second hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

* * *

Once midterms were over, Harry could relax just a little. He still had work, he still had class, and, of course, he still had Maisie. He was getting a better handle on his classes, though, now that they were into the second half of the term. Even Econ was clicking, for which Harry would be eternally grateful.

The only thing missing was Louis.

It had absolutely been the right move to step back and say goodbye to Louis. Aside from having no real time to nurture a relationship, any relationship they did have would be built on a lie. Harry couldn't do that. It wouldn't be fair to anyone. So, though it had pained him, he had ignored Louis' texts, including the one reminding him about _Romeo and Juliet_.

In the middle of November there was a cold snap. Harry took to coming home from work, picking Maisie up from Barbara, then bundling himself and the baby up in a thick blanket to sit in front of the television. He'd make Maisie a bottle and himself a cup of tea, and they would warm up together. When they were both warmed up, he would lay Maisie down to sleep, and he would revise.

One Friday night in the heart of the cold snap, Harry decided to give revising a rest and give Maisie some extra attention. He'd been reading about "tummy time" online, and he was trying to institute this into their daily routine. It wasn't the most exciting Friday night he'd ever had, but Maisie seemed to enjoy this new activity, so he figured that more or less balanced things out.

Harry was busy dangling toys in front of Maisie to make her look up and continue to be engaged with her tummy time when the doorbell rang. Harry frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone.

He scooped Maisie up into his arms--with enough of a flourish to make the four-month-old grin--and went to answer the door.

Harry could not have been more surprised had his visitor turned out to be a purple and pink spotted elephant. It was Louis.

He had not seen Louis since their celebratory dinner about three weeks earlier. Harry missed him on the daily, but was convinced there was no way he could truly make Louis a part of his life.

Louis shot Harry a cheeky grin. "Are you going to let me in or should I just play with Maisie here in your front doorway?" He reached out his hands to take Maisie, who went without hesitation. In contrast, she pumped her little arms with excitement at seeing Louis.

It took Harry another few seconds to recover himself enough to say, "Oh. Sure. Come in." He shuffled out of the way to let Louis into the flat.

Louis carried Maisie over the threshold and toed off his shoes, kicking them to the wall just inside the door. He looked, then, to Harry. "Sofa?"

"Sure," Harry agreed, feeling a little like a parrot for repeating himself.

With a nod of acknowledgment, Louis led the way to the sofa, sitting down and resting Maisie's back against his chest. He offered her his finger, and she immediately began to suck at it. "Well, someone seems to have missed me," he commented with a smile, meeting Harry's gaze purposefully.

Harry had never met anyone who made him blush the way that Louis did. "I missed you," he admitted shyly, casting his eyes downward.

"Excellent!" Louis exclaimed. "Then I am especially glad I stopped by."

Harry noticed that Maisie was still sucking at Louis' finger like it was her source of life. Glancing down at his watch, he said, "It's almost eight. She definitely needs a bottle."

"You get it, and I'll feed her," Louis offered.

Harry started to protest, but then Louis raised his eyebrows and said, "Go," allowing no argument.

Realising Louis was quite serious, Harry went into the kitchen and prepared a bottle for Maisie. When it was the perfect temperature, he went back into the lounge and handed the bottle over to Louis.

He watched with more fondness than he knew was absolutely necessary as Louis situated the baby in such a way as she would be comfortable for feeding. Once she was set, Louis popped the bottle in her mouth, and she ate greedily.

"So, how've you been?" Louis asked conversationally as Maisie took her bottle. "How's Econ going?"

"Good. I feel like I'm starting to get it," Harry told him. "Thanks to you, of course."

Louis tried for a modest look, but fell somewhat short. "You must be blowing out of there right on time these days," he commented. "I never catch you asleep anymore."

Harry chuckled. He hadn't quite gotten over the embarrassment of how he'd actually met Louis, bur he was getting there. "Guess I'm managing my time better. Maisie's on a great schedule now, which also helps a lot."

"That's great." Louis checked on Maisie before asking, "And work's going okay?"

Harry nodded. "I mean, it's a lot, but it's manageable."

"When you didn't answer my texts and missed the play, I kept thinking I should stop by to see you at either the Tesco's or the tea shop, find out how you were," Louis confessed, "but then I didn’t know how you would feel about that."

That made two of them. "I'm so sorry I missed the play, but it would have been fine for you to stop by work," he said, though even he heard the hesitancy in his voice.

Louis picked up on it, too. "You don't sound awfully sure."

"I just…." Harry started to explain, but found he couldn't.

"I know," Louis assured hm.

They sat in a slightly awkward silence as Maisie finished off her bottle. Louis got her to burp, then she closed her eyes wearily.

"I'll take her for a fresh nappy and put her down," Harry said. "Stay?"

"Sure." Now Louis was the parrot.

Harry made quick work of changing Maisie into a clean nappy and a comfy onesie, then he set her down in her bassinet. She was out like a light within seconds, worn out by the exciting evening of tummy time and company. Harry bent over to kiss the top of her head. "Night, bug," he whispered, even though he knew she might be up again at some point during the night.

When he got back to the lounge, Louis was casually checking his mobile, leaned back into the sofa cushions as if he belonged there. He looked up when Harry re-entered the room. "She down?"

"Completely knackered," Harry confirmed, settling himself back down on the sofa. He hauled in a deep breath. "So…" he tried once again to voice his feelings, but--again--he couldn't.

"I missed you," Louis said into the ensuing silence. "That's why I'm here. You were wondering, weren't you?"

Harry admitted he had been with a sharp nod. "I was pretty sure I'd chased you away."

"You had. For a day or two," Louis disclosed, turning to bring one leg up onto the couch so he could more easily face Harry. "Then I started to miss you. I tried to stay away. I know you have a lot on your plate. But I couldn't stand it anymore. So I'm here instead of at a club with my mates."

The blush Harry felt this time was deep; he knew he was flushing scarlet red.

Louis went on, saving Harry from actually having to say anything. "I know you've got a lot going on with school, work, and your sister, but I want to be part of your life, too. If the kisses weren't a dead giveaway."

The kisses. Harry thought about them every night as he was falling asleep. "The kisses were nice," Harry confessed. "Very nice. It's just…. Maisie." He was painfully aware that this was exactly the same excuse he'd given when Louis had tried to kiss him the second time.

Louis inched a bit closer to where Harry sat. "I would think Maisie would want her big brother to be happy."

"Maybe," Harry reluctantly acknowledged.

It apparently didn't take a lot to encourage Louis. He moved forward a little bit, and when Harry didn't back up, he moved forward a little bit more. When he was close enough, he leaned in to press his lips to Harry's. Maybe he thought the third time would be the charm.

Just as he had last time, Harry let himself get lost for a moment in the feeling of Louis' mouth on his, but despite how amazing Louis was, when Louis tried to turn the kiss into something a little less chaste, Harry backed off.

"I'm…sorry," Harry apologised.

Louis shook his head as he, moved back to his first spot on the sofa, giving Harry some space. "No, it's me who should be sorry. I pushed. Maybe you don't like me that way."

Harry mirrored the shake of Louis' head. "No, I do. Believe me, I do."

"Is it just too much with Maisie still so small?" Louis attempted to attach meaning to Harry's hesitancy and why Maisie was such an issue. 

Harry sighed. If he said yes, it would be yet another lie. It would be a lot, but Harry didn't really think a relationship wouldn't work at all with Maisie in the picture. On the contrary, some support would be nice. Louis' support, in particular, would be nice. And the lies had to stop.

"I have to be honest," Harry said. He was uneasy about where this was going, so he gave himself a few seconds to admire Louis before Louis, no doubt, made a run for it once he was faced with all of the untruths Harry had uttered.

"Honest about what?" Louis sounded confused, and his eyes crinkled with concern.

"You have to promise to listen to the whole story before walking out," Harry insisted.

If possible, Louis' visage became even more puzzled. "Why would I walk out?"

Harry hauled in a deep breath, then began. "Maisie isn't my little sister."

Louis laughed uncomfortably. "What? Did you steal her?"

"No," Harry reassured Louis that he wasn't, in fact, a criminal. "What kind of person would kidnap a baby and bring it to university to raise in the chaos of two jobs and a first year schedule?"

"Fair point."

"She's my daughter," Harry confessed softly.

"Your daughter?" Louis repeated, as if he hadn't heard Harry correctly. He seemed not to be upset, but more curious than anything else.

Encouraged that Louis didn't react too negatively to his news, Harry nodded. "My high school girlfriend got pregnant last year. I was going to ask her to marry me. I figured we could get a house and jobs, and we could raise the baby together. But Imogen wanted no part of Maisie. She wanted to have an abortion, but I convinced her to have the baby, and I promised to take her. As soon as Maisie was born, Imogen said she never wanted to see me or the baby again."

"Well, I'm not sure why you didn't want me to know she was your daughter--"

Harry cut Louis off to continue, "My parents and sister aren't dead. They live down in Cheshire, in Holmes Chapel, where I'm from."

"You lied about your parents being dead?" Louis did sound a bit incredulous over this part of the story, like he couldn't quite believe someone would make up a story like the one Harry had created.

"They kicked me out, and my sister took their side," Harry explained. "They told me I was ridiculous for taking this on, and they refused to help. My mum said she'd already raised her babies, and my step-dad, of course, sided with her. My sister said she was embarrassed to have a brother who knocked up his teenage girlfriend. It was a little too _Teen Mom_ for her. My dad has been out of the picture since I was seven. So I left, and Maisie and I ended up here." He pulled in a shuddering breath and let it out raggedly before holding it again while awaiting Louis' reaction.

Louis had a question. "Why did you lie to me?" His tone was not accusatory, which was what Harry had expected, but was, rather, kind.

That kindness gave Harry the strength to say, "I was worried that you would judge me the way my parents did. That you would think it was stupid of me to take on a baby my first year of uni. That you wouldn't respect someone who didn't use protection and got their girlfriend pregnant. My sister certainly didn't.

"It wasn't long after we met that I realised I liked you as more than a friend. I wanted you to like me as more than a friend. So I lied. But I couldn't lie anymore. Not if we had a chance of being…more," Harry concluded, again holding his breath once he was done. Vaguely, he wondered how long it took to get oxygen deprivation.

Louis paused briefly, clearly letting Harry's explanation sink in. "I'm so sorry you felt like you had to lie," he finally said. "What your parents did was awful. They're missing out on you and on Maisie. Have they ever even seen her?"

Harry shook his head. "They refused to."

"Well, if you hadn't already guessed," Louis continued. "I'm already in love with Maisie. She had me from the moment I met her. And it doesn’t matter to me one little bit whether she's your sister or your daughter. I still think you're so incredibly brave to be taking charge of her like this, even more so under the real circumstances."

The blush came back with a vengeance. Softly, Harry said, "Thanks."

"And as fast as I fell for Maisie, I fell for you even faster," Louis revealed. "I think somewhere around the third time I caught you sleeping and the start of our tutoring sessions was when I was trying to figure out how to let you know. We were always revising or you were rushing off to class or work or Maisie. There was never time."

"You like me, too?" It was as if Harry's biggest wish was coming true.

"I do. Here, let me show you." Louis bounced forward on the sofa until he was close enough to snake his hand behind Harry's neck and pull him roughly toward Louis, crushing their lips together a fourth time. Unlike before, however, Harry threw himself into the kiss, meeting Louis note for note. And when Louis slid the tip of his tongue into Harry's mouth, Harry gave him entry.

The electricity Harry had felt the very first time he and Louis had kissed returned, shooting sparks up and down Harry's spine. Louis' tongue was warm and curious, seeking out every corner of Harry's mouth, and Harry was thrilled to explore every corner of Louis'. It felt right, like it was meant to be.

When both boys were breathless, they parted reluctantly.

"So," Louis whispered, still catching his breath. "That part where you had a girlfriend…."

"I'm bi," Harry told him.

"That? Is excellent news," Louis proclaimed with a Cheshire cat grin.

Harry countered with his own question, "And that part about where I have a daughter?"

"I'm already looking forward to helping you take care of her," Louis answered, still grinning.

Harry grinned back at Louis. "That? Is also excellent news."

"So, how long do you think we have before your daughter wakes up?" Louis inquired, waggling his eyebrows.

"An hour. Maybe two," Harry replied.

"More excellent news." And with no further ado, Louis returned his hand to the back of Harry's neck and moved in for Kiss Number Five.

* * *

_Two and a half years later (give or take)…_

Harry was nervous. As a rule, he did not mind getting up in front of people, but this was getting up in front of people to get his degree. And if it was a rule that he didn't mind getting up in front of people, it was also a rule that he was terribly clumsy, and he stood a fair chance of tripping or falling while taking his turn on stage.

They were going up one long row after the other, and when the row in front of him stood up for their turn, Harry checked his clothes were straight and ran his tongue across his teeth to ensure a nice, bright smile.

Finally, it was time for his row to stand. They worked their way down the row of seats and into the aisle. Butterflies danced in Harry's stomach, so he pulled in a deep breath to calm them down.

Once they were slowly moving up the side steps to the stage, Harry was able to look out into the crowd. It wasn't all that tricky to find his people. He saw his mum and dad--both with tissues out, blotting tears from their eyes. They had re-entered his life only a short year ago, and it was still quite a jolt to see them in person. Next to his mum sat his sister. Gemma was already cheering. Gemma had come back on the scene about six months before his parents, but it was hard to shake the year and a half she had refused to see him.

Next to Gemma were his favourite two people in the world. His boyfriend--soon to be husband--Louis was decked out in a suit. He didn't dress up often, but Harry loved how well Louis cleaned up. He had told Louis that just nice clothes--some khakis and a dress shirt--would do, but Louis insisted that it was a graduation. He needed to be a little more than casually dressed.

On Louis' lap stood the love of his life, Maisie. She was just a couple months away from her third birthday, and she was quite the proper show-off. She was dressed in a summery sailor dress--her brown curls twisting every which way down past her shoulders--and the second she locked gazes with Harry, she screamed, "Daddy!" She waved at him so vigorously that even from far away, Harry could tell that Louis had to tighten his grip on her.

Harry couldn't help it. He knew it wasn't particularly decorous, but he waved back to Maisie, aware that he was probably grinning like a loon. He didn't care.

He finally had it all. He had his parents and sister back in his life, a man he loved with his heart and soul, and a little girl who was everything light and good. The degree he'd earned and the job he had lined up were just icing on an already sweet cake.

"Harry Edward Styles," a voice intoned. It was his turn.

He was absolutely ready.

End (17 April 2016)


End file.
